This invention relates to a connector for use with a vehicle having a fifth-wheel, or gooseneck, hitch.
When a vehicle tows a fifth-wheel or gooseneck trailer, and the vehicle drops into a hole or rut in the road, the vehicle experiences a hard bounce. This is because the trailer tongue is exerting a downward force on the trailer hitch equal to the tongue weight. The towing vehicle reacts as if a load, equal to the tongue weight, is in the bed of the vehicle whenever the towing vehicle hits a rut or hole.
In the past their have been several trailer hitches described that have sought to overcome the hard ride problem, although these descriptions addressed different hitches with different couplings than the present invention. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,419, an earthmoving tractor-trailer combination uses an additional link to strengthen the coupling to prevent the forward edge of the trailer from bouncing toward the ground whenever the tractor hits a hole or rut. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,194,584 and 3,441,291 address the problem of towing a towed vehicle using a ball hitch attached at the rear of the towing vehicle. These inventions are representative of devices which use torsion bars to overcome the tendency for the trailer hitch to drop whenever the towing vehicle drops into a rut or hole.
None of the above patents describe a structure that can be used with a fifth-wheel, or gooseneck, trailer connector which can be mated with a fifth-wheel hitch, or gooseneck ball, mounted in the bed of a truck. What is needed is a device which can be used with a fifth-wheel or gooseneck connector which can be used to dampen shocks as a towing truck drops into a hole or rut.